UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior Cassidy Rushlow and freshman Ava Piedrahita of the Penn State women's gymnastics team will compete in the 2023 Women's National Collegiate Gymnastics Championships as individual competitors at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, April 13 in the 3 p.m. ET session.
Rushlow (uneven bars) and Piedrahita (vault) each qualified for the national meet by taking the tiebreaker over all second-place finishers at NCAA Regionals in Pittsburgh on April 1. Rushlow's 9.95 on bars tied the Penn State regional program record in the event, while Piedrahita's 9.9 vault score was one of three 9.9s for her that day, leading to a 39.525 all-around total which ranks second in Nittany Lion history at regional competition.
TUNE IN LIVE
Both semifinal sessions will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 with additional individual event broadcasts available on ESPN+. Rushlow and Piedrahita will rotate with Cal in semifinal session I at 3 p.m.
PENN STATE INDIVIDUALS IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Last Time
- Penn State last sent individual qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in 2019, when Jessie Bastardi (beam) and Sabrina Garcia qualified (bars).
- The last time an individual competed on vault for the Nittany Lions was in 2018 when Lauren Bridgens represented Penn State in the all-around.
High Scores at the National Championships
- Vault: 9.925 – Allison Barber, 1992
- Uneven Bars: 9.875 – Lauren Bridgens, 2018
SEASON REVIEW - CASSIDY RUSHLOW
In 2023, Rushlow posted one of the best seasons on the uneven bars that Penn State has ever seen, becoming the first Nittany Lion to record three-or-more 9.95+ scores on the apparatus in the same year, heading into the National Championships with four such marks in 2023.
- Her 9.95 at the Pittsburgh Regional is her postseason career high and tied Penn State's regional program record on the apparatus.
- Earned a career-best 9.975 on bars against Nebraska, the second-highest score in Penn State history on the event.
- Became the first gymnast in program history to earn three-or-more 9.95+ scores on bars in the same season, entering the championships with four such marks.
- Collected eight 9.9+ scores on bars throughout the season and did not record a single bars score below 9.8, earning four bars titles over the course of the season.
- Added three 9.85+ scores on balance beam, including one event title.
- Earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, the third conference honor of her career (2020 Second Team, 2021 First Team).
SEASON REVIEW - AVA PIEDRAHITA
- Her 9.9 on vault at the Pittsburgh Regional is tied for fifth all-time in Penn State history in regional competition and was the best vault score at regionals for the Nittany Lions since Lauren Bridgens in 2018.
- She also scored a 9.9 on bars and floor in Pittsburgh, tying the fourth and fifth-best marks in Penn State history in regional competition on those events, respectively.
- Additionally, her 39.525 all-around total at regionals is Penn State's No. 2 mark all-time in regional competition and is the best all-around score for a Nittany Lion in any competition since Bridgens posted a 39.525 on Feb. 26, 2022.
- Tied the No. 9 vault score in Penn State history with a 9.95 on Feb. 24 at the Big Five meet.
- Earned four scores of 9.925+ on vault in 2023, and only recorded two scores below 9.825 on the apparatus during her first collegiate season.
- Was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, collecting the first conference honor of her career.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).